一名97歲高壽的高爾夫大亨創(chuàng)辦了一家航空公司，力圖抓住圣迭戈和洛杉磯之間客流量快速增長的商機(jī)。不過問題是，南加州的乘客憑什么愿意為了這家小公司而放棄在圣迭戈的大機(jī)場乘機(jī)呢？

加利福尼亞太平洋航空公司現(xiàn)有4架50座的巴西航空工業(yè)公司Embraer SA E145客機(jī)。該公司的航班每周四從圣迭戈縣北部的卡爾斯巴德市起飛，去往加州的圣何塞和內(nèi)華達(dá)州的里諾。該公司計(jì)劃在本月晚些時(shí)候?qū)I(yè)務(wù)擴(kuò)展到拉斯維加斯和亞利桑那州的菲尼克斯-梅薩機(jī)場。

創(chuàng)辦這家公司是泰德·瓦拉斯長久以來的夢想。瓦拉斯曾經(jīng)創(chuàng)辦過很多企業(yè)，包括全球各地的多家高爾夫球場和度假村，此外他還運(yùn)營過一家地區(qū)性航空公司，還從事著飛機(jī)客艙的內(nèi)部裝飾業(yè)務(wù)。

該公司的營銷總監(jiān)瑞安·迪維塔表示，在圣迭戈縣北部有很多乘客想從一個(gè)沒有其他附加商業(yè)服務(wù)的小機(jī)場更方便地搭乘航班，他們就是公司的目標(biāo)客戶。加州太平洋航空將重點(diǎn)關(guān)注那些每周乘飛機(jī)通勤的客戶，以及那些前往拉斯維加斯和里諾進(jìn)行休閑活動(dòng)的人。

迪維塔表示：“我們的目標(biāo)是進(jìn)入我們認(rèn)為服務(wù)不到位的市場。我們覺得圣迭戈北部地區(qū)的客流量是能夠保障這項(xiàng)服務(wù)的?！?/p>

早在上世紀(jì)90年代，美航、聯(lián)合航空和美國西部航空公司就已進(jìn)駐卡爾斯巴德機(jī)場。從圣迭戈國際機(jī)場（約在卡爾斯巴德機(jī)場以南35英里處）出發(fā)的乘客的首選目的地是舊金山。圣迭戈國際機(jī)場的第一大航空公司是西南航空，大約占據(jù)了該機(jī)場39%的份額。

A startup airline founded by a 97-year-old golf course developer hopes to capitalize on the rapid growth between San Diego and Los Angeles. The question is: Will enough Southern California travelers find the carrier useful enough to skip the drive down to San Diego’s big airport?

California Pacific Airlines takes flight Thursday from Carlsbad, in northern San Diego County, with flights to San Jose, California, and Reno, Nevada. It plans to expand into Las Vegas and Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona, later this month with its fleet of four, 50-seat Embraer SA E145 jets.

The carrier is a long-held dream of Ted Vallas, a serial entrepreneur from the area who made his fortune in a motley career spanning golf course and resort projects around the world, running a regional airline and working on aircraft cabin interiors.

The airline aims to draw travelers from northern San Diego County who seek more convenient flights out of a smaller airport that has no other commercial service, said Ryan DiVita, the carrier’s director of sales and marketing. California Pacific will focus on business travelers who commute weekly for their work, as well as those heading to Las Vegas and Reno for leisure activities.

“The goal is to go into what we view is an underserved market,” DiVita said. “We feel that the amount of ridership possibility in the northern San Diego area warrants its own service.”

Carlsbad had commercial service in the 1990s from American, United and America West airlines. San Francisco is the top destination from San Diego International (about 35 miles south of the Carlsbad airfield), where Southwest Airlines Co. is the top carrier, with 39 percent market share.

加州太平洋航空公司的發(fā)展并不順利。近年來，由于與圣迭戈縣和聯(lián)邦的監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)齟齬不斷，該公司的很多項(xiàng)目都沒能按計(jì)劃啟動(dòng)。該公司的機(jī)隊(duì)和運(yùn)營執(zhí)照都是在今年5月收購了一家名叫Aerodynamics Inc的公司之后才取得的。Aerodynamics Inc公司的總部位于亞特蘭大市郊，它主要運(yùn)營由聯(lián)邦政府補(bǔ)貼的從丹佛到南達(dá)科他州的皮埃爾和沃特敦的“基本航線計(jì)劃”線路——該補(bǔ)貼在短期內(nèi)也能為加州太平洋航空公司提供一定支持。

大氣研究集團(tuán)（Atmosphere Research Group）的旅游業(yè)分析師亨利·哈特韋爾特表示：“在卡爾斯巴德建立航空服務(wù)是一個(gè)明智的想法，因?yàn)槭兄行囊员钡貐^(qū)的客流量一直在增長?！彪S后他補(bǔ)充道：“不過，他們前面的路也并不好走?！?/p>

哈特韋爾特指出，很多經(jīng)常出差的人大都綁定了某一家航空公司，以享受這些公司的優(yōu)惠政策和?？晚?xiàng)目。他表示：“他們必須將商務(wù)旅客從其他航空公司那里爭取過來?！彪m然西南航空公司不會(huì)將波音737客機(jī)派到卡爾斯巴德機(jī)場，但它也有很多辦法讓這個(gè)新競爭者的日子不好過，比如針對圣迭戈和北邊的桔子縣的乘客提供打折機(jī)票和附加服務(wù)以及其他招徠措施。

加州太平洋航空公司現(xiàn)有89名員工。迪維塔表示，該公司也會(huì)考慮開通飛往奧克蘭、薩克拉門托、加州以及墨西哥的洛斯卡沃斯的航線，不過這要看初步的業(yè)務(wù)運(yùn)行情況。另外，該公司還將允許旅客免費(fèi)托運(yùn)兩件行李，這一點(diǎn)與加州客流量最大的西南航空公司看齊。其單程推廣票價(jià)在99美元到149美元不等。

迪維塔表示：“我們持謹(jǐn)慎樂觀的態(tài)度。很明顯，我們并不幼稚。我們已經(jīng)與一些機(jī)場達(dá)成了合作，他們愿意幫助和投資我們，使我們的業(yè)務(wù)盡可能地做到最好?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：樸成奎

California Pacific has a rocky history. Numerous efforts have failed to launch in recent years amid disputes with San Diego County and federal regulators. Its current fleet and operating certificate were acquired in May, when the company purchased Aerodynamics Inc. That company, based in suburban Atlanta, operates federally subsidized Essential Air Service routes from Denver to Pierre and Watertown, South Dakota—a financial backstop that could help support California Pacific in the short run.

“It’s a smart idea to try to build air service out of Carlsbad, because there’s been growth north of the city center.” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group. But, he added, “they don’t have an easy road ahead of them.”

Many people who travel frequently for work are deeply tied to a particular airline, due to company travel policies and a strong affinity for frequent flier programs, Harteveldt said. “The business traveler has to be wooed away from incumbent providers.” he said. And while Southwest won’t be flying its Boeing 737s into Carlsbad, it can certainly make life difficult for the newbie with fare cuts, additional service and other enticements aimed at travelers in San Diego and Orange County to the north.

California Pacific, which has 89 employees, will also consider service to Oakland, Sacramento, California, and Los Cabos, Mexico, DiVita said, depending on how the initial flights perform. For an additional sweetener, the airline will offer travelers two checked bags without a fee, matching Southwest, the largest carrier in California by traffic. One-way introductory fares range from $99-$149.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” DiVita said. “Obviously, we are not na?ve—you can’t be. But I will say that I think we have partnered with airports that are willing to help and invest in us and make it work as best as possible.”